Harry Potter paced in his bedroom at Privet drive. Something was not right in the Dursley house this evening.

That day, Dudley had arrived home from a walk with his friends to find an intervention. Harry raced down as quietly as he could to sit on the stairs, unobserved.

"Dudley Dursley!" Harry's aunt Petunia said with very distinct anger in her voice. "Have you been meaning to tell us something?"

Harry, who had been watching from the stairs, watched his Aunt Petunia sit in one of her pristine leather armchairs and blow her nose.

His uncle Vernon, however, continued to stand.

From his spot, Harry could see things very clearly. He could see Dudley, shifting his enormous weight from foot to foot.

"Listen, Mr. Babinaeu has it in for me! Next semester I'll pull my grades up in science! I won't have him!" Dudley explained.

"You're failing science?" Petunia cried and blew her nose again. This was obviously not what she had wanted to talk about.

"Never mind. You were never good at science, son. There is something a lot more pressing that we need to discuss," Vernon said, barely more than a hiss.

Dudley now looked ready to faint. "Yes, father?" He asked tentatively.

"Does the name 'Nimfidana Tanks' mean anything to you?"

"No," Dudley said, perfectly truthfully.

"Son…" Vernon warned.

"Nimfidana Tanks doesn't, but certainly, Nymphadora Tonks does," He said carefully, trying to turn it all into a joke. "She's very weird, you see, and she is getting married and she asked me to teach her the ol' 1, 2! Oh and, err, she offered to help me with science, and in return I'm teaching her about computer games and…" he had been stuttering through the whole thing, quite obviously making it up. Vernon wasn't buying a word of it. As Dudley made up even more pathetic excuses, Vernon tapped his foot harder and faster on the floor, arms crossed. When Dudley mentioned the computer games, however, Vernon readjusted his body from arms crossed across his body and power stance to a feigned 'oh really' expression. Dudley nearly wet himself when he realized he had just told his father a magical grown woman who was about to get married wanted to know about computer games.

For a moment, Harry almost felt sorry for his walrus of a cousin. Harry made it a rule not to mess with 3 people:

Hermione when she was doing assignments,

Ginny when she was angry, in the zone or hexing someone, and

Uncle Vernon when he was mad.

Today, Uncle Vernon was not mad.

He was livid.

Which put Harry in a bad mood.

No doubt, Dudley would find a way out of it, and Vernon would take it out of him.

"We have reason to believe you've conspiring with this- this- this freak about getting Potter out of here! Well I tell you! It won't be happening!" Vernon spat. Harry was starting to get a little worried. He had been invited to the Weasley's, as always, but he worried that with his uncle in this mood, he might not be able to escape.

"Father! Surely you want him out of here as much as I do?" Dudley said, trying to redeem himself. This conversation was taking an uncomfortable turn. Harry ran as quietly as he could upstairs to his bedroom

The moment he was on his bed, 'reading' a novel, Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley burst in. Harry pretended to not know what was going on.

"You! Boy! I want you out of my house this instant!" Vernon yelled.

"Vernon, NO! Harry, you may stay the night. This will be your final night!" Petunia said, overriding her husband.

"Petunia! What do you think you're doing?" He said, obviously dumbstruck.

"This is the only home Harry has ever known! We must give him a chance to say goodbye, pack his things and find his bird," the conversation stopped while everyone looked at Hedwig's cage and out the window to see if she was coming. "Besides, we must celebrate! I'll get started on dinner!" With that, she swept herself from the bedroom

"You boy," Vernon said in a low tone, "Tomorrow, first thing, you are gone. Pack. We shall call you when dinner is ready. I am only letting you stay because I respect my wife, and celebrations mean she will pull out the champagne-"

"And the chocolate cake!" Dudley interrupted.

"Be quick. I presume she will be ready soon. I want to see none of your possessions in this room tomorrow!" This time Vernon left in a flash, with Dudley, waddling in his wake.

Harry could hardly contain his glee.

He sat down to write three letters. Hedwig was sitting on the windowsill. She didn't like confrontation and had flown there when Harry burst in.

The first letter was to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, to inform them of his arrival.

The next was to Ron and Hermione, telling them he'd see them soon, and to tell them why he was being kicked from his aunt and uncle's house, telling them he hoped they hadn't been up to 'mischief', though he knew they had. Their new relationship was one very different to what they had previously had – They didn't snog constantly as Ron had done with Lavender, and they didn't talk constantly, as Hermione had with McLaggen. It was a healthy mix.

Though they hardly had trouble showing affection.

The last letter was much harder to write.

Ginny, (he began)

He sat in front of that piece of parchment for twenty minutes before he gave up, threw it in the wastepaper basket and gave the two letters to Hedwig to take to the Burrow, after asking her to stay there, as he'd join her later that day.

He had very little to pack, as he hadn't unpacked very much, so he picked up his book again and read until he was called for dinner.

The Dursley's were dressed to the nines.

As Petunia had little time to ready herself, there were only two courses, but Harry didn't mind. There was a large chicken in the middle of the table, currently being carved by Vernon and served.

Harry sat down and Vernon passed him a plate.

When everyone had been served, Harry's uncle picked up his glass. Harry then noticed he and Dudley had also been given glasses of Champagne.

"To the end of an era," Petunia said with feel, raising her glass in a toast

"To the end of a chapter in our lives we might like to have forgotten," Vernon said nastily.

"To the end of the Potter/Dursley relationship" Harry followed suit.

"To the end of these lame toasts so we may eat!" Dudley said. Petunia laughed and rumpled Dudley's thick locks as he dug into his meal.

Once everyone had devoured the chicken, out came the chocolate cake Dudley had mentioned. His eyes gleamed and Harry saw the pathetic ness in his uncle's eyes. Nothing would ever be good enough for him. Vernon had raised Dudley to eat like this, yet he seemed to despise what his son did.

The chocolate cake was, of course, not up to Mrs. Weasley's standard, but it was good for Petunia. Harry guessed it was the one the next door neighbors had sent over earlier that day.

Once they had all eaten, Harry helped clear away the dishes. While they were in the kitchen, Petunia whispered "Your book was upside down."

Harry blushed slightly as his aunt sped off to get the wine glasses. She had known he was sitting on the stairs, listening.

Upstairs, Harry heaved a sigh of relief. He changed into his pyjamas and fell into a dreamless sleep.

He woke early in the morning, perhaps six am. He realized Hedwig had done as he had asked and stayed at the Weasleys. He dressed, finished packing his things – there was not much to do, and went downstairs.

The Dursley's had not yet stirred, so Harry pulled out the bread and put some in the toaster for himself.

He had finished his peanut-butter-on-toast by half past six, and he decided to get his trunk and leave now. He then thought again, and decided to right the Dursleys a note.

Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, Dudley.

I leave this note, as I will be long gone before you awaken to find it.

Dudley, I apologize if I got you into trouble about Tonks, and your plans have gone to waste. I am sure I will be seeing her soon, so I'll tell her.

Dursleys, this is a note merely to tell you that I am leaving.

I thank you for last night's dinner, though I don't believe there's anything else I should thank you for, as you've done little to aid me in any way.

Furthermore, I believe I should apologize for any magical inconvenience I have caused you.

Sorry about the snake, Dudley.

Sorry about the fright Mad-eye Moody gave you, Uncle.

Sorry about the howler from Dumbledore, Aunt.

Sorry about the Ton-Tongue-Toffee, Dudley.

Sorry about the tail, Dudley.

I apologize for anything else.

I feel I must do this, to clear my conscience.

My final apology is this: I apologize for being in your home for all these years. I know Uncle Vernon wanted me out long ago. I would thank you for it, but I don't believe it's worth it.

So these are my final words to you, Dursleys.

Goodbye. I would wish you the best, though I know you will get it, deserving or not.

Harry.

He suppressed a smile at what the Dursley's would think when they awoke to find this note. Apologies and all.

He took one final look at the Dursley kitchen, then left, closing the door behind him.

He walked up the drive way, down Privet Drive and didn't turn back. Once he turned out of the street, knowing he was rid of the Dursleys, Harry sat, heaved a sigh of relief, and he smiled.

They were out of his life.

As Vernon had said earlier, a chapter of his life is over.